The venerable individual, recognized as the world's oldest person, passes away at 117 years old.
At 117 years old, Maria Branyas Morera, famously known as the oldest individual worldwide, bid her farewell in Spain. Her relatives confirmed her demise on platform X, stating, "Maria Branyas has departed from us. She peacefully left this world in her sleep, as she had desired, without any suffering."
After Lucile Randon, a French nun who was 118 years old the preceding year, passed away, the Gerontological Research Group (GRG) declared Branyas the oldest living individual. The GRG is responsible for verifying and validating the ages of supercentenarians, those who are 110 years or older.
Branyas was born on March 4, 1907, in San Francisco. She relocated back to her homeland, Spain, alongside her family when she was still a child. At the time of her demise, Branyas resided in a nursing home in the Catalan city of Olot. Her X profile, named "Super Àvia Catalana" or "Catalan Supergrandma," features the bio, "I may be old, extremely old, but I'm not dumb."
Note: Maintain distance from toxic individuals
As per the "Guinness World Records," Branyas attributed her extended lifespan to "arrangement, calmness, strong family connections, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries or regrets, and an abundance of positivity, alongside maintaining a distance from toxic people."
Throughout her life, she faced numerous hardships. According to the "Guinness World Records," at the age of eight, she tumbled off the top deck of a ship to a lower one during her family's relocation to Europe, resulting in hearing loss in one ear. She endured both World Wars and cared for wounded soldiers during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). She also experienced two historically significant pandemics - the Spanish Flu between 1918 and 1920, and the COVID-19 pandemic about a century later. She recuperated from her own infection at the age of 113 "within a few days," as per Guinness.
Presently, the oldest living individual worldwide is Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman who is 116 years old.
The European Union recognized Maria Branyas Morera's remarkable lifespan and her contributions to society by extending their condolences upon her passing. As a prominent figure in the Gerontological Research Group's records, her age and life story became a significant point of interest for many European researchers focusing on aging and longevity.
